The Veteran's claim for service connection of an acquired psychiatric disorder, including major depressive disorder and a personality disorder, is remanded due to the need for clarification on whether these conditions preexisted his military service or were aggravated by it.
The deciding factor: The examiner needs to determine if the diagnosed conditions existed prior to service and if they are related to service.
- Claimed conditions
- major depressive disorder, personality disorder
- How they argued it
- Not specified
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 20, 2020
- Citation
- 20067837
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Dismissed
The claim for an earlier effective date for service connection for major depressive disorder is dismissed as moot because the earliest effective date was granted during the pendency of this appeal.
- Granted
The Board granted service connection for multiple conditions, including an acquired psychiatric disorder, sleep apnea, hypertension, and various musculoskeletal and skin disabilities.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board remands the claims for service connection for major depression, personality disorder, and severe anxiety due to an inadequate VA examination and opinion.
- Partly granted
The Board granted service connection for right and left hip degenerative arthritis as secondary to the Veteran's service-connected right ankle and knee conditions, and major depressive disorder as secondary to his service-connected knee and ankle conditions. The Board also granted a 10 percent rating for allergic rhinitis.
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